


Dear Emperor of Heaven

by sorasan0000



Category: Akatsuki no Yona | Yona of the Dawn
Genre: F/M, Nation of Xing, New Years, minor Vold x Tao hints
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 22:24:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9144904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sorasan0000/pseuds/sorasan0000
Summary: The New Years celebration is upon the people of Xing, and a huge celebration is happening at Kyuu Palace. Neguro accompanies Kouren as they make the rounds that night, but something keeps bothering him at the back of his mind.





	

“Look, look, there they are! It’s starting!”

A young man with light brown hair pranced and leaped around the balcony, his wide eyes marveling as the show was underway. This year’s fireworks were proving to be one of the most explosive in recent memory. With each spark, flash, and boom that rang, the young man’s excitement just heightened.

“Mizari, you’re a Five Star now. Sit down and just watch the show,” an older, slightly exasperated man said.

“But…” the younger one muttered, biting his lip before breaking out into a smile again. He ran past the man and into the hall, running into several servants in his path. Not the most coordinated one, most certainly.

“Where do you suppose he’s going off to?” a softer toned man asked. His thick, wavy hair blew in the cold breeze, and he held himself close through the shivers. His soft, smooth face was contorted in near disgust over the cold despite wearing the thickest fur coat of anybody in the city.

Neguro grabbed his spear and began walking in the direction Mizari ran to, with Yotaka more than eager to follow him inside. They greeted the smiling palace servants, guards, and distinguished guests. The celebration of a new year was upon them, and it proved to be one of the largest celebrations in the country. Overseers of cities, ports, and even prisons were invited to the palace to make merry and let go of their daily troubles.

All except for one person, it seemed.

“Neguro, Yotaka! Happy New Year!” came a chipper young lady’s voice. She had just turned the corner, accompanied by a fellow Five Star named Vold, who was about twice as tall as her. She adorned a snug, white fur coat that reached clear past her knees and new red colored shoes. Her bob-cut hair rested against her shoulders and she gave everyone around a warm smile.

Neguro and Yotaka slightly bowed their heads, greeting her as they made way for her to pass. Vold stopped to talk with them, causing the short princess to abruptly stop and wait.

“Have either of you seen Algira?” he asked in an annoyed tone. The one he spoke of was another Five Star who probably had the same idea as Mizari to go off and enjoy the holiday away from the inner walls of the palace. Despite the festive nature of the holiday, allowing people to abandon their duties for a day, it was not necessarily so for the Five Stars.

“Now, now, Vold,” Princess Tao interrupted, “Algira is still new at this. Let him have some fun and then we’ll reel him in.” She chuckled, leaving Vold taken aback and flustered. Bowing and taking his place by her side, they both waved to Neguro and Yotaka.

Yotaka grabbed a dumpling from a tray a servant carried down the hall, munching in silence as Neguro continued greeting guests at the base of one of the hallways. He looked at the man, taking in his bored expression and furrowed eyebrows. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Yotaka pushed down and brought Neguro to his level, whispering low enough for nobody around to hear them. Neguro’s eyes narrowed, softened, and closed. He stood straight, folded his arms, and nodded. He took his leave, leaving Yotaka alone to both greet the guests and keep an eye out for Mizari and whatever mischief he was bound to cause.

***

He stood outside her chambers and knocked. After hearing no answer, Neguro sighed and stood with his back facing the doors. She had insisted they enjoy themselves as much as they could for this day, but how could he bring himself to do that when his princess was bedridden from exhaustion? Working on a mere hours of sleep over the last week so she could be free for the holiday, only to collapse was the most unfair thing to happen. The goal of the holiday was to stay up until the morning rooster crowed so the great emperor of heaven wouldn’t have a chance to shorten their lives.

“Dear emperor above,” he whispered, “my sins outweigh hers tenfold. I’ve taken lives,” he paused and began pondering the rest to himself. He had plundered. He had lied. He had allowed his mind to wander into the most degrading of ideas. Could he make a deal just this year? This year when she was too exhausted to stay awake?

He heard light footsteps echo from the shadows. He alerted himself and stood straight, reaching for his spear and taking a standard guard stance. Perhaps it was the king coming to check upon his daughter. Perhaps it was just Princess Tao. Or maybe it was someone else. An intruder? A guest? He would be prepared, whoever it was.

As a dimly-lit lantern flickered down the hallway, carried by the one walking, Neguro could make out their height. Soon, their face could be seen, and he sighed in relief. It was no wonder Princess Kouren hadn’t answered his knock. Here she was walking around with a lantern in one hand and a cup in the other. She looked a little dazed but she was awake. She slightly jolted in surprise as she spotted him but quickly regained composure and coughed.

“Are you feeling better, Your Highness?” he quietly asked.

She nodded and walked to his side, placing the lantern and cup on the floor and putting her hand on one of the doors’ handles. She glanced at him and told him to wait where he stood. She reached into a nearby closet and pulled out a brown fur coat, draping it over her shoulders and exiting the room. She walked past him, telling him to accompany her.

As they both walked in silence, he had to wonder if she was truly going to be all right. The fright he experienced when she collapsed that morning still rang in his mind. The dark circles under her eyes, her unkempt hair, and even her posture as she walked indicated she still needed the sleep. As they entered the public eye, she straightened up and put on her most dignified face.

Guests perked up as they recognized their esteemed princess and greeted her with smiles and bows. However, the smells of various kinds of flowery and musky fragrances overwhelmed her and she got out of the closed-in confines of the palace as quickly as she could. Neguro found it a humorous scene to watch unfold. She was never one to sweet talk the esteemed guests. He spotted the king from out of the corner of his eye, seeing him shake his head with a smile. Surely he was of the same train of thought as Neguro was.

“Where are the other Five Stars?” she suddenly asked.

“Yotaka is keeping watch over security, Vold is accompanying Princess Tao, and…” Neguro trailed off. Algira and Mizari were usually the odd ones out.

“Mizari was the one who woke me up with his constant banging on my doors,” Kouren revealed with an exasperated sigh.

Mizari, that damn rascal.

As twilight soon turned to a dark, starry night, they could witness the festivities ramped up all around them as they walked around the palace grounds. Plays about ancient heroes of Xing were performed left and right, using people, puppets, and even cats as characters. Kouren decided to sit in on one of them, smiling and laughing as actors kept smacking themselves within the spirit of jokes.

“What do you get when you put a short Kouka Sky royal on the throne?” the master of the show asked the audience.  “Nothing!”

Kouren abruptly spat and held her gut in laughter. It was apparent that she enjoyed that one. Neguro smiled and let out a spot chuckle himself.

“Now,” the master continued, “who is tired? Raise of hands, who is tired? Come now—there’s gotta be more than that! Raise them high!”

Kouren, swept up in the act, raised her hand. She glanced at Neguro, raising her brow and giving him a mischievous smile. He gave in and raised his hand, as well.

The master of the act rubbed his hands together and called for his assistants. They each held baskets full of small boxed packages. Both Kouren and Neguro’s jaws dropped when they spotted Algira among those assistants. Neguro face-palmed and groaned while Kouren folded her arms and slanted her lips. “Well,” she said, “that answers that.”

Not a single other word was said between the two of them. They simply watched as Algira threw box after box into the crowd, only to see him turn white as a sheet as soon as he spotted them. He quickly put the basket down and zoomed off the stage. They weren’t sure it was him, but they could have sworn they heard Vold screaming in the distance.

Neguro opened the box that Kouren had caught and opened it. Inside were simple blue bracelets. It was a sign of good fortune. He took one out and took her hand, slipping it on carefully.

“Take caution this year, Your Highness.” He wrapped both of his hands around her left hand and held it firmly.

“Why so grave all of a sudden?” she asked.

“It’s nowhere near close to the first crow of the year. Should you fall asleep—“ he stopped himself before clearing his throat and stepping back. He knew she didn’t believe in these superstitions. He took back what he said and told her to forget it, but she held onto his arm before he could begin walking again.

“If I fall asleep and the great emperor in the heavens is told of my sins of the year,” she paused, “and he then chooses to shorten my life, I’ll use those years I lost to punch him in the face when I die. For each and every year.”

That was certainly the princess he knew. He bowed and took her word on it. “I was just thinking to myself that I could somehow make a deal and have some of my years taken in your stead.”

“No!” she shouted. People surrounding them paused their activities and peered at them. Her face turned red and she took him by the hand, leading him away and to a quieter gathering.

As another fireworks show began, the air was filled with echoing booms and sparks, but it couldn’t distract her from her fiery rant. “My sins are mine. Your sins are yours. Don’t think-- ” she turned around and grunted.

Neguro slowly got onto his knees and laid his spear down. Gathering his thoughts, he breathed slowly in relaxation and apologized. In the wake of his own insecurities he had caused distress to his master. It truly wasn’t becoming of a Five Star.

She let her arms lay limp and her posture straightened once more. “Neguro, you will not die for my sake or your own. Die for Xing’s.”

Should the year pass by without trouble, should it pass by without her having to put herself on the front lines of danger, that would be possible. Should King Il’s reign continue to prosper and thrive, that would be possible. It was difficult—her telling him to consider such a thing. Should her life be in danger at any time, he would be the first to stand in the way. Whether it was someone here on earth or on heaven, he would die for her.

As the finale of the fireworks show played out, they both stood and watched in silence. Kouren spotted two figures in the distance and couldn’t keep her eyes off them. Vold and her younger sister, Princess Tao, laughed and pointed at the show. He then swooped her into his arms, twirling and causing her to shriek in excitement. Kouren whistled, causing them both to abruptly stop. Kouren shirked into the darkness of an alley and snickered, leaving the two younger ones confused and eager to get out of the clearing. Surely under the impression that they were alone, they knew they couldn’t be spotted by others, lest some scandalous rumors were to spread.

“To tell the truth, I wouldn’t mind if they got married,” Kouren confessed. She stepped out from the shadows as soon as they were out of sight.

“Why is that?” Neguro asked in curiosity.

“Vold isn’t a conniving nobleman whose only goal is to get his hands on the throne. I could trust him with Tao.”

As they made another round about the palace grounds, they ate frozen juice blends, sweetened buns, hot and sizzling noodles, and sat in on another play full of drunken actors. This was about the time of night that everybody began entering their loopy stages. That point where they were so tired that they _weren’t_ tired. Neguro had entered that phase and laughed his guts out as he watched the actors make fools of themselves. Kouren joined him, slapping her lap through tears of laughter as she asked for another drink. Neguro snapped back to his senses if only for that one moment and told the server to forget that request. More alcohol was the last thing she needed.

As the sky in the distance began brightening up, Kouren slouched over Neguro’s back. She slurred her words, saying that she had lasted the night without sleeping, asking him if he was happy. He nodded and slipped out from under her weight. She wobbled as she stood, nearly losing her footing before regaining it on her own. She rubbed her eyes and held her arms out.

“Neguro, help me to my room,” she said before she let out a belch.

He lent her his arm, stabling her and walking slowly with her as they made their way back into the inner walls of the palace. Along the way, they could see dozens of guests already asleep. Kouren wasn’t far behind them. She kept dozing off at his side, and it got to a point where he decided to carry her on his back. Some smiled at the image, and others whispered behind lifted hands. He glared at those in particular, leaving them surprised and aghast.

“Oh, Senior Neguro!” beamed a young man’s voice. Neguro rolled his eyes and slowly turned around to see Mizari coming their way.

“Mizari, where have you been all this time?”

Mizari pranced and excitedly twiddled his thumbs. “I’ve been eating and drinking and eating some more. I watched a kitty cat play about the 300 Years War. I felt really, really bad about Lady Kouren missing out on everything so I went to wake her up. And then—“

Neguro had all but tuned him out from that point on. Not only was he mad about him going about as he pleased again, but he had disrupted Kouren’s much needed rest. He would have been content watching over her until she got that, but now she was probably going to be in worse shape.

_My sins are mine._

Her words echoed in his memory. It’s true. Perhaps he shouldn’t be so negative over it. Perhaps he was too tired to think straight about it. As the gongs rang out, signaling the crow of the rooster to ring in the new year, Neguro breathed a huge sigh of relief. Hopefully Kouren hadn’t been asleep long enough for the great emperor of heaven to hear the report of her past year.

As he placed her gently into her bed, she grabbed his cape. He stood still and gazed down at her. “What is it, Your Highness?”

“Neguro, I…” she trailed off before starting again. “I love... Please don’t ask the emperor that…that thing…” she muttered as she let go.

Whether she was really awake at that moment wasn’t known, but what came from her mouth left him breathless. Oh, dear emperor above, please…

***

Vold walked alongside Neguro as they surveyed the cleanup of the celebration. Usually it was the outdoor grounds that needed the most attention, but the guests had really outdone themselves this time. With someone’s undergarments still hanging on a pole and nobody with the equipment to get them down, it was a wonder who on earth could have accomplished such a feat.

“It was Algira,” Vold said point blank. He folded his arms and tapped his finger, gritting his teeth.

He could really put that flexibility and skill to use if the time came, for sure.

“Neguro,” Tao called from behind.

Neguro stood before her and bowed, asking her what she needed. She gestured for him to follow her, leaving Vold behind to figure out how to get Algira to pick up after his mess. She calmly waved as some of the remaining guests greeted her. They held off any further approach as they spotted Neguro, with his dark-circled eyes, pale face, and natural glare. It may have been due to these characteristics that nobody bothered him and Kouren the previous day.

When she sat down in the library, she offered him a seat and began. “Thank you for watching over my sister. Not just last night.”

Neguro stoically sat across from her and folded his hands together. Something so simple could have been said sooner, but for them to come to a quiet place where they were likely to be alone, it couldn’t have been as simple as that. He leaned in and asked her if there was anything else she needed of him.

She narrowed her eyes and folded her own hands. Her smile faded and she took a deep breath before continuing. “Please continue watching over her. This year may prove to be rather hard for her, I’m afraid.”

Neguro leaned in further. “How so?”

“Something is happening in Kouka that may disrupt King Il’s reign.”

It was instant. Dread filled Neguro’s heart and mind. His mind immediately filled with questions. Questions that he couldn’t even word properly. All he could manage to say was, “Like what?”

“I’ve received word from Vold’s intelligence report. One of Kouka’s northern tribes is stocking up on weapons and building their army to be the biggest in the nation. South Kai is also infiltrating one of the southern tribes and may destabilize it past a returning point.”

Neguro clenched his hands into fists. “What is King Il doing about this?”

“Nothing.”

Neguro began shaking. “Why?” Why wasn’t the king of that large country looming above their heads doing anything? What about strives for peace? What would become of all that effort?

“Please, Neguro,” Tao whispered, “protect Kouren. I know what she’s been through in the past. She can’t take that again.”

Neguro stood and bowed, thanking her from the bottom of his heart for the information. He left her alone and walked down the hall, feeling shaken to his core. Maybe King Il really was planning on doing something about it. He couldn’t lose all faith just yet. He wouldn’t have to pray to the heavens to give him all the strength they could muster for him. He could only ask for the best possible consequences.

“Neguro?”

He turned around and saw Kouren standing there. Any traces of exhaustion from the previous day were gone from her face, but she looked a little concerned. She folded her arms and approached him, flicking his nose as soon as she got close. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

As long as things weren’t certain, she didn’t need to know just yet, did she? Could he spare her that nightmare for a while more?

“I’m just hung over, Your Highness.”

She nodded and walked back in the opposite direction. Neguro watched her back as she walked further away. That back that already had the weight of the country’s future upon it.

_Dear emperor above, please grant us as much time as we can to face this._


End file.
